Redact PDF
Permanently and irrecoverably remove specified text from a PDF using verified true redaction, not just visual overlay. The underlying text data is stripped from the file so it cannot be recovered by copying or inspecting. Ideal for privacy compliance on your self-hosted SnapOtter instance.
Features
- True redaction that removes underlying text data, not just visual masking
- Search-and-redact by text string across all pages
- Verified removal ensuring redacted text cannot be copied or extracted
- Preserves unredacted content and document structure
- Suitable for regulatory and legal compliance workflows
What you can do
- Removing Social Security numbers from government documents before release
- Redacting patient names from medical records for HIPAA compliance
- Stripping confidential financial figures from audit reports
- Removing employee personal data from HR documents before archival
Self-hosted. Your files never leave your network.
SnapOtter runs entirely on your own infrastructure. Files processed with Redact PDF are never uploaded to third-party servers. Deploy a single Docker container and process files with full privacy, no watermarks, and no usage limits. Open source under AGPL-3.0.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this true redaction or just a black box overlay?
- This is true redaction. The specified text is permanently removed from the PDF data so it cannot be recovered by copying, searching, or inspecting the file. All processing runs locally on your server.
- Can I redact specific words across all pages?
- Yes, you provide the text occurrences to redact and the tool finds and removes them from every page. Processing happens entirely on your self-hosted SnapOtter instance for maximum privacy.
- Is this suitable for HIPAA or GDPR compliance?
- The tool performs verified true redaction, making it appropriate for compliance workflows. Because SnapOtter is self-hosted, sensitive documents never leave your network during processing.
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